Newton girls down Salt Hawks

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By Mark Schnabel?Newton Kansan

The Kansan - Newton, KS

By Mark Schnabel?Newton Kansan

Posted Jan. 9, 2013 at 6:30 AM

By Mark Schnabel?Newton Kansan

Posted Jan. 9, 2013 at 6:30 AM

Newton, Kan.

HUTCHINSON — The Newton High School girls’ basketball team jumped out to the start it wanted, stopping Hutchinson 56-31 Tuesday night in Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League Division I play at the Salt Hawk Activity Center.?Newton wins its third straight, improving to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in AV-CTL I play. Hutchinson falls to 1-7, 1-3 in AV-CTL I play.?“That’s the best that my teams have played in the first half,” Newton coach Randy Jordan said. “We were fundamental. We took care of our stuff. We took advantage of what was there, especially inside. I thought our three-quarter court 2-2-1 dropped them back on their heels right away. The thing about playing here in Hutch is, if you give them momentum, it just seems like it builds and builds. We’ve blown leads here. It’s a hard place to play.”?Abbie Lehman led the Railers with 21 points, followed by Kelsi Langley with 13 and Hannah Carlgren with 12.?“We’ve been working a lot on our full-court press,” Lehman said. “We’ve been doing a lot to speed other people up. We worked on our offense a lot. We worked at getting the ball inside on the lob. We got a lot stronger during our winter break practices. We’re just working hard every day to get ready for the next game.”?“Kelsi has been playing well,” Jordan said. “Kelsi played really well against Campus. So did Hannah. Hannah played well, especially in the first half. Jacque (Anderson) had a good game at point guard. From this summer on, all I need her to do is take care of the ball. I have enough scorers. She needs to get us in our offense and let the scorers take over. She struggled early, but she’s starting to come around.”?Hutchinson was led by Jordan Downing with eight.?Newton jumped out 21-3 after the first quarter and led 32-8 by the mid-point of the second period. Hutchinson didn’t reach double digits in scoring until the final minute of the half. Newton led 36-11 at the half.?Hutchinson was able to stay with Newton through the third quarter. Newton led 47-20 at the end of the period. The Railers dumped the bench in the fourth quarter.?Newton returns to play at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Valley Center. The Railers are ranked fourth in the current Class 5A coaches poll. Valley Center, 6-2, is ranked ninth. The Hornets fell to fifth-ranked Andover 60-42 Tuesday.?“Valley Center has some momentum,” Jordan said. “They are a confident team. My son, Landon, is a coach there. (Head coach) Daniel Smith has done a great job there. They have gotten back to respectability. The thing we have to do is what we did tonight — not give them any momentum. We can’t give them any more confidence. We’re a lot alike. They run the same man offense. They run a similar zone offense. They get up and down the court. It will be a matter of who imposes their will.”NEWTON (7-1, 4-1AV-CTL I) — Porter 1 0-0 4, 2; Anderson 0 0-0 1, 0; Stahley 0 (2) 0-0 1, 6; Hiebert 1 0-2 4, 2; Bartel 0 0-0 0, 0; Lehman 9 3-3 3, 21; Langley 3 (2) 1-1 2, 13; Boston 0 0-0 0, 0; Saenz 0 0-0 1, 0; Carlgren 5 2-3 3, 12; Thieszen 0 0-0 1, 0; TOTALS 19 (4) 6-9 21, 56?HUTCHINSON (1-7, 1-3 AV-CTL I) — Long 1 0-0 2, 2; Rothe 3 0-0 2, 6; DeGarmo 1 0-0 1, 2; Downing 4 0-1 3, 8; Weber 0 1-2 0, 1; Sellers 1 0-0 0, 2; Reiser 0 2-3 2, 2; Wesse 0 3-6 0, 3; Engel 0 0-2 1, 0 Kraus 0 4-6 1, 4; Calvillo 0 1-2 0, 1; TOTALS 10 11-22 12, 31.?Newton 21 15 11 9 —56?Hutch. 3 8 9 11 —31